The Nobel Prize announcement starts from October 7. Like every year, Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine and Physiology will be awarded first. Nobel Prize is considered as the most prestigious award in the world.

Nobel Gold Medal

Nobel laureates receive a certificate and a gold medal as recognition along with monetary value. It is a special honor for the winners. But those who have noticed the medal well, they must have seen two types of pictures on both sides of the medal. On one side is the well-known picture of Alfred Nobel. But what is the picture on the other side? What is the history of those pictures?

Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindbergh designed the Nobel Prize medal. In 1902, the first gold Nobel medals were awarded for physics, chemistry, medicine and physiology, and literature. Although the Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901. But in 1901, although the names of the Nobel winners were announced, the medals were not handed over to them. Because, during this period, the design of both sides of the medal was not approved by the Nobel Committee.

Correspondence between Nobel medal designer Eric Lindbergh and his father, Adolf Lindbergh, suggests that the 1901 Nobel laureates were initially awarded a temporary medal. This temporary medal had a portrait of Alfred Nobel. But it was made of alloy. And it takes some more time to make the medal we see now. As a result, the first gold medal was awarded in 1902.

From 1902 to 2009, all Nobel medals were minted at the Royal Mint of Sweden. Name Royal Mint Eskilstuna Mintverket. Since 2010, Norway's Det Norsk Mintverket has been responsible for the production of Nobel Peace Prize medals. Since 2012, the rest of the Nobel Prize medals have been produced by Sweden and Norway. The medals are made jointly in the mints of these two countries. And the design company 'Anders Eriksson's Atelia' is responsible for making the molds used in making the medals.

Alfred Nobel's portrait is used on one side of the medal in the fields for which Alfred Nobel spoke, i.e. physics, chemistry, medicine and physiology, and literature. The portrait shows Alfred Noble wearing a shirt, jacket, overcoat and a bow tie. Swedish photographer Gosta Florman is believed to have taken this picture of Alfred Nobel. And according to that picture Eric Lindbergh designed the Nobel medal.

The obverse of the Nobel medal bears the inscription 'ALFR• NOBEL' to the left of the portrait of Alfred Nobel. On the right is written in Latin 'NAT• MDCCCXXXIII OB• MDCCCXCVI'. The word 'NAT' is an abbreviation of 'natalis'. It means 'birth'. And the word 'OB' is derived from 'obitus'. It means 'death'. Roman numerals indicate the years 1833 and 1896 respectively. This year marks the birth and death of Alfred Nobel. If you look closely, you can see that the lower left corner of the medal reads 'E. LINDBERG 1902'. The Mane medal was designed by Erich Lindbergh in 1902.

This is about one side of the medal. But what is the picture on the other side? The other side of the physics and chemistry medal uses the portrait of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility. She is considered the goddess of nature. He stands on a cloud in the sky and holds a cornucopia in one hand. Cornucopia was considered a symbol of abundance in ancient Greece. The right eye of Isis is partially covered by a veil.
However, the veil of the left eye is lifted by another woman with one hand. This woman is placed as a representative of science. In a word, this picture means that science is uncovering the secrets of nature. To their left are the two Latin words 'NATURA' and to the right 'SCIENTIA'. It means 'nature' and 'science' respectively.
The names of the Nobel laureates are engraved in the center of the lower plate of the medal. Usually winners have their first and middle letters abbreviated and the last part of their name in full. Below that is the year in Roman numerals. That is, the year in which the award is given. As seen on this medal 'A. BOHR / MCMLXXV'.

This means that Au Niels Bohr received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975. He received the award jointly with Ben Mottelson and James Rainwater for discovering the relationship between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei.

On the right of the medal is the name of Eric Lindbergh in small print. And there is more writing around the medal. Above is written in Latin 'INVENTAS• VITAM• IUVAT EXCOLUISSE• PER• ARTES'. The sentence is taken from line 663 of the sixth volume of the famous book Aeneid written by the Roman poet Virgil. In simple terms it means 'improving the quality of life with the help of invented art'. On the lower part of the medal, 'REG• ACAD• SCIENT• SUEC•' is written on the left and right respectively. It refers to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.